PREVIEW
The third meeting of the season in the Texas Derby highlights Heineken Rivalry Week 2 as the Houston Dynamo play host to FC Dallas in the battle for El Capitán when the Western Conference rivals face off Saturday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo come into the game in need of points, sitting seven points below the red line in the Western Conference, after their 1-1 home draw with Seattle Sounders FC at midweek. FC Dallas sit atop the conference and hold the best overall record in MLS this season, coming off a 1-0 loss at Real Salt Lake last weekend.

The teams are meeting for the third time this season in league play. Andrew Wenger scored one goal and set up two others as the Dynamo rolled to a 5-0 victory March 12 at BBVA Compass Stadium, the most goals scored by a team and the largest margin of victory in the Texas Derby. The teams then reached a 1-1 draw June 2 at Toyota Stadium.

The first meeting victory snapped a five-game FC Dallas winning streak in the series, over the last three seasons. FCD had won the previous two league meetings at BBVA Compass Stadium, just their second and third wins all-time in Houston in 14 meetings in all competitions, the first since 2010. The last Dynamo victory in Frisco came in 2011, FCD winning three home meetings in a row before the draw in the last encounter.

The teams also met in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal, Fabian Castillo scoring the game’s only goal to send FC Dallas through, July 20 at BBVA Compass Stadium.

The clubs play for “El Capitán”, the 19th-century Mountain Howitzer cannon to be awarded to the winner of the season series by supporters groups for both clubs. Last year was the first season since 2011 the teams met more than once in the regular season, with both back in the Western Conference.

The match was only four minutes old before it was delayed for nearly two hours after a rainstorm caused heavy water buildup on the field.

After the restart, FC Dallas took the lead in the 23rd minute. Fabian Castillo sprinted down the wing before holding up, creating a passing lane for a bouncing cross that Ryan Hollingshead smashed home for the opening goal.

The Dynamo leveled terms in the 51st minute. Ricardo Clark was trailing the play when a deflected pass fell directly into his path, and he hammered a rising rocket that FCD goalkeeper Chris Seitz had no hope of stopping.

HOUSTON DYNAMO
The Houston Dynamo extended their undefeated run to three games, gaining a 1-1 draw with Seattle Sounders FC on Wednesday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo are in 10th place in the Western Conference with 25 points from 25 games.

LAST GAME

The Dynamo took the lead with a quarter-hour to play. After Alex won the ball in the Sounders FC end, Ricardo Clark poked into the area for Andrew Wenger to run onto, and he hammered a sharp-angled blast into the side netting inside the far post.

But Sounders FC hit the equalizer deep into stoppage time. Freed on the left side of the area, Joevin Jones pulled a pass back to the spot where Nicolas Lodeiro turned a left-footed shot inside the right post.

Dynamo interim head coach Wade Barrett made three changes to the team that defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 at Avaya Stadium. Erick Torres came into the attack in place of Mauro Manotas.

The late draw with Sounders FC extended their undefeated run to three games, with two draws in that span. The Dynamo have taken points from 10 of their last 13 matches, dating back to May 28, with two wins and eight draws in that time, since Wade Barrett took over as interim head coach.

“Can’t take away any of the disappointment. Every single person is hurt. I am,” Barrett said. “I’ll be asking questions about what we could have done differently. Maybe what I could have done differently in-game. But it comes down to one play. You have to make another play.”

It was a fourth consecutive draw at BBVA Compass Stadium for the Dynamo. They have now gone eight games since their last home defeat (April 15, 1-4 vs. LA Galaxy), the club’s longest since their MLS-record 30- game home undefeated streak ended early in the 2013 season.

“I told the guys in the locker room, ‘It’s on us to decide what team shows up on Saturday,’” Barrett said. “And maybe it’s a foregone conclusion that we won’t make the playoffs but if that’s the case, I know which way I want the season to go. I want us to fight and scrap for every single point, for every single minute.”

Andrew Wenger scored his first goal since June 26, netting his fifth goal of the season, two shy of his MLS single-season career-high set in 2013 when he split with Montréal and Philadelphia.

Ricardo Clark collected his second assist of the season, his first since the opening game of the season, when he assisted on the Dynamo’s second goal, also scored by Wenger. Clark has a goal and an assist in the last two games.

Erick Torres made his first start since July 23, coming in as the spearhead in attack and playing the opening hour, his first appearance with the Dynamo since his return from the Rio Olympic Games where he played with Mexico.

Will Bruin came off the substitutes’ bench for a third consecutive game and collected his third assist of the season, his first since assisting on two of the Dynamo’s three goals in their season-opening 3-3 draw with New England on March 6.

“It looked like spells towards the end where they looked a little bit dead on their feet and we had some good breaks,” Barrett said. “But regardless of what it looks like, it’s still one point.”